Omar Linares

Omar Linares was considered the greatest Cuban baseball player of the late 1980s and 1990s, and many Major League scouts considered him the world’s pre-eminent third baseman in that era. Linares won gold medals at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, adding a silver in 2000. With Cuba being dominant in amateur baseball in that era, Linares also won gold medals at the Pan American Games (1991, 1995, 1999), Goodwill Games (1990), and the World Cup (1994, 2001).

In his career in Series Nacionale, Linares batted .368 with 404 homers and 246 steals over a 20-year career. Linares led the Cuban league in walks six times, batting average four times, RBIs four times, and triples once. In the twilight of his career, Linares was allowed to play in Japan, but due to age, he struggled there. He came along too soon to be allowed to play Major League Baseball in the United States, although every team drooled at the thought of getting him into their line-up. Many baseball experts feel he should be the first Cuban player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.